'The Beast' Asteroid Seen in Amazing Detail (Photos, Video)

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arecibo Observatory/USRA/NSF

The nature of "The Beast" has been revealed.
NASA researchers bounced radio signals off the huge near-Earth asteroid 2014 HQ124, nicknamed "The Beast" by some, as it whizzed by Earth on Sunday (June 8), just six weeks after it was discovered. The resulting images — which resolved features as small as 12 feet (3.75 meters) wide — are among the most detailed radar views of an asteroid ever acquired, according to agency officials. [See the video here.] Less «

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has photographed Mercury crossing the face of the sun, marking the first time such a planetary "transit" has ever been imaged…Read More »

from the surface of a planet other than Earth.
The Mercury transit photos — which Curiosity captured on June 3 using its Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument — also represent the first images of the solar system's innermost planet ever taken from Mars, NASA officials said. [See the video here.] Less «

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Space Telescope Spots Baby Stars Inside Celestial Snake (Photo)

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/2MASS

A NASA space telescope has peeled back the dusty veil around the Serpent constellation to reveal a cluster of newborn stars.
The baby stars were spotted by NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope in the Serpens Cloud Core, a stellar nursery that is home to one of the youngest collections of stars astronomers have observed in the Milky Way. It's about 750 light-years away from Earth and is part of the snake-shaped Serpens (or "Serpent") constellation. [Read the full story here.] Less «

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Wow! Prototype NASA Lander Aces 1st Night Flight Test (Video)

Credit: NASA

Spewing orange and blue flame against the dark sky, NASA's Morpheus lander flew more than 800 feet (244 meters) into the air during its first-ever night…Read More »

flight test at Florida's Kennedy Space Center late last month.
The robotic spacecraft — a prototype system for landing on other planets — successfully touched down about two minutes later in a zone scattered with boulders during the May 28 test, guided by nothing more than its hazard detection system. You can watch a video of the spectacular nighttime test here, courtesy of NASA. [See the video here.] Less «

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Sun Unleashes 2 Major Solar Flares Back-to-Back (Video)

Credit: NASA/SDO/Goddard/Wiessinger

The sun fired off a third X-class solar flare on Wednesday (June 11). For the latest story, read: Sun Erupts with 3rd Huge Solar Flare in 2 Days: Video…Read More »

The sun unleashed two major solar flares early Tuesday (June 10) in amazing back-to-back storms from our nearest star. [See the video here.] Less «

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Private European Space Plane Prototype Passes 1st Drop Test (Video)

Credit: Airbus Defence and Space/Astrium SAS 2014

A potential European entry into the suborbital space tourism industry now has a few flights under its belt.
A quarter-scale prototype of SpacePlane, a vehicle being developed by the France-based company Airbus, took to the skies last month, giving engineers their first look at how the craft performs in the air.[See the video here.] Less «

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World Cup in Space: Astronauts Play Cosmic Soccer on Space Station (Video)

Credit: NASA (via YouTube as ReelNASA)

World Cup soccer excitement has launched into space.
Three astronauts in orbit are getting into the World Cup spirit on the International Space Station. The crewmembers are joining with billions of soccer fans back on Earth to root for their favorite teams in the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament, which starts today (June 12) in Brazil. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Steve Swanson created a World Cup tribute video from space with European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst of Germany to send their well wishes to people on Earth as the tournament kicks off.[See the video here.] Less «

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'Dark' and Powerful Space Explosions May Be Cloaked by Cosmic Dust (Video, Images)

Credit: NAOJ

Astronomers using a giant radio telescope to investigate the most violent explosions in the universe, known as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), found something…Read More »

Chow Down! Star Will Devour 2 Alien Planets

Credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA)

A star shining about 2,800 light-years from Earth will chow down on two of its planets millions of years from now.
Kepler-56 is a star somewhat like the sun, and it is slowly getting larger, ballooning out into a red dwarf. Once it moves into its red-dwarf phase, Kepler-56 will gobble up the innermost planet, called Kepler-56b, in about 130 million years. Kepler-56c, the second exoplanet in the star's meal, will be devoured about 25 million years later.[Read the full story here.] Less «